


Red Dragon Blue Dragon

by malurette



Series: malu tries to write in english [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Dragons, Gen, One Shot, Symbolism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-03 16:31:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17287532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malurette/pseuds/malurette
Summary: Two dragons, one red, one blue, turn and turn and turn endlessly in Zuko's thoughts.





	Red Dragon Blue Dragon

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Dragon rouge, dragon bleu](https://archiveofourown.org/works/369485) by [malurette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/malurette/pseuds/malurette). 



> **Title:** Red Dragon Blue Dragon  
>  **Author:** ylg>/=malurette>  
>  **Fandom:** Avatar: The Last Air-bender  
>  **Character:** Zuko  
>  **Rating:** PG  
>  **Disclaimer:** Bryke's, not mine
> 
>  **Author's note:** ESL author with no beta-reader – if you spot mistakes please do correct me.
> 
>  **Prompt:** «yin & yang» for 6variations">  
>  **Spoilers:** up to _The Firebending Masters_  
>  **Word count:** 650+

Awaiting “judgement” and true firebending teaching, Zuko was expecting at lot of things… but not this. 

A red dragon and a blue dragon are dancing around him and Aang. A fascinating sight… and what does Zuko truly see in them, here and now?

> I already saw them before, I know them somehow.  
>  But when, how?  
>  I think I dreamt of them.  
>  A fever dream… a long time ago. Back in Ba Sing Se, when in an inner turmoil… before choosing the right path?  
>  …as my uncle said.  
>  Now I know. I _should_ know. 

The blue dragon reminds him of… opponents: the Water Tribe’s color, cold, and also Azula's fire lightning. The red dragon is the color of his nation: his home, warmth, rich silk of Mother's robes, all things good now long past.  
It _seems_ that blue means antagonism and red positive forces. But both are important. There are two dragons, dancing as equals. It’s not that simple.  
What he sees now is not an opposition between the two colors but their union. The two dragons are not battling; they’re dancing together in infinite harmony, celebrating life and beauty.

Is it true, is this symbolism in his eye only? It doesn't matter here. Or does it… Zuko sees what he needs to see: the dualism, the yin and yang. One cannot have one without the other.

He remembers what he learnt from the scrolls: the duality inside of him. His great-grandfathers… Come to think, there already have been two other dragons looming over him: both of them had one; Avatar Roku's well-known pet Fang and Fire Lord Sozin's captured steed.

As they dance together Zuko hopes his dragon is the red one. But that would make the blue one Aang’s, the Avatar’s, and if blue is negative, it is not how it’s supposed to happen! Unless…

Blue is also the color of lightning, wielded by his father and his sister, and by his beloved uncle Iroh, who taught him the redirection technique that saved his life. And red is like spilled blood, the color of his scar, his shame forever engraved in his flesh. And there might be more examples but none to come to his mind right now. Right now, there’s only the dance of red and blue together.

So, is blue really negative and red only positive, was Avatar Roku all good and Fire Lord Sozin all bad? No, of course not. There's at least a bit of each in everyone one. So both count. It's all about balance; one cannot entirely take over the other. Right?

They're circling each other, seemingly always on the verge of merging yet never really touching.

Here is his life symbolised before him: the perpetual struggle between good and bad. His past: both sides of his family. He shouldn’t take his new-found goodness for granted but have to struggle forever with both sides. He’s both his mother's and his father's son. 

And there is his future too: it should be the same for his sister. She, too, was born both Mother’s and Father’s daughter. There must be good and bad in Azula too even if she let the bad speak louder.

If he is a red dragon, she’s a blue dragon. Must they forever be dancing one around the other, is there no hope for her, unless he forfeits his place for her?

No. 

Red and blue go together, one shouldn’t try to separate them. He’ll still have to defeat her, but when he finally confronts her, he must try his best not to kill her. She’s still his sister. And he won’t be like her: where she’s cruel, he’ll be merciful.

He must never forget but accept what he is. True. And these dragons here are a reminder of his destiny, but not an omen, and not an order either.  
His destiny, between the two possible paths, will always be his choice.


End file.
